William and Kate's guard 'accidentally fires gun' outside the royals' home

02 NOVEMBER 2012

A royal protection officer guarding William and Kate's home has been suspended after accidentally letting off his firearm. The policeman was believed to have been sitting in his car when he inadvertently fired a round into the floor. Some damage was caused to the vehicle, but no-one was hurt in the accident.

Scotland Yard have now launched an investigation into the drama, confirming their employee's mishap whilst on duty in Anglesey, Wales, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enjoy leading a normal, low-key life.

''Shortly before 1pm on Wednesday October 24, an on-duty MPS police officer unintentionally discharged a firearm while in an unmarked police vehicle," a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said. ''The round damaged the floor of the vehicle. Another on-duty officer was in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Neither officer was injured. The officers were on duty in north Wales at the time.''

It isn't known if the Duke and Duchess were at home when the incident occurred. Their guard's mishap caps an eventful few weeks for the couple. In France, police claimed to have identified the person who took topless pictures of Kate as she sunned herself by Prince William's side in Provence. During their recent Jubilee tour of South East Asia, the royal couple learned that French magazine Closer planned to publish revealing photos of the pair at a chateau belonging to the Queen's nephew, Viscount Linley.

Despite smiling their way through royal duties since the pictures emerged, William and Kate have been pursuing the case behind closed doors and are determined to bring all involved parties to justice. Their tenacity now seems to be yielding results, as police close in on the photographer responsible for the "brutal display" of their private lives.

"A name has been offered," a source close to the investigation said in a statement. "The photographer is expected to be held for questioned imminently." If found guilty, the perpetrator faces a £36,000 fine and up to a year in jail.